Month of January , 2007

In our quest to find Randy the dolphin we came across a number of bizarre stories. One of these that we read in the press is that he had been to Weymouth in England. There, according to the report, he was hit by a speedboat and was never seen again.

But we have good news. This special dolphin, that gave the first stimulus to Morganonline, is still alive!

During our last visit to Mignon in the Océanopolis here in Brest marina, we heard that Randy the Dolphin had been seen among the islands of Brittany. This was exciting news and we decided together with some neighbours from the marina, to take the ferry to the Island of Sein. This was where he had last been seen and we wanted to see if we could meet him. Actually this was crazy.

A sure way to bring a conversation to a full stop is to mention an interest in algae, plankton and dinoflagellates. These are miniscule creatures living in all the world’s oceans on which we are dependent. As with terrestrial vegetation, the plankton make oxygen through photosynthesis, and therefore without them there would be no life on earth. One of the smallest creatures on earth and we are dependent on them for our existence!

Our weekly visit to the Océanopolis’  seal rescue centre to see Mignon was again a real pleasure last week, she had been well enough to have been placed in a pool with two other seals of about her age and weight, and was clearly trying to find her feet again with others after having been washed up on a beach three weeks previously and spending time by herself in a pen.

People who live on or near the sea, are often amazed at what they see. On the one hand they see things that don’t belong; such as rubbish – in the sea and things that do belong there out of the sea – such as stranded animals. The tidal range in Brittany is extremely high – about seven metres average – and this means that the beach next to the marina expands and shrinks dramatically twice a day with the tides.

During our visit to the marine aquarium, the Oceanopolis, here in Brest, we heard a startling piece of information. Not long ago, off the coast of Brittany, a regular visitor was spotted. This was the lone male Bottlenose Dolphin who is known as Randy.

A week after she was rescuedhaving being stranded on a beach in north Brittany and taken to the seal rehabilitation centre in the Oceanopolis we went to visit Mignon. Little Mignon, the Grey seal pup who looked so frightened and pitiful last week, is clearly on the road to recovery.

When we visited Mignon last week, she was doing well. While she was still unable to feed herself and had to be hand fed, she had put on a kilo of weight, and was adapting to life in the seal rescue centre. Everything seemed well. Imagine then our fright when we arrived at the centre today, walked over to her pen and she was not there!

When we are berthed in a marina we have electricity from the harbour, but if we are at anchor we need the generator to create 220 V. Without energy everything stops. In our case, no energy means that we cannot do anything. As a preventive measure, everything is checked once in a while. Now that we are in Brest and are staying in one place where everything is available, it seemed a good idea to give all our energy sources a thorough check. Among these was the generator.

Did you know that birds can fly through water? Some seabirds hunt by flying over the water and swooping down on fish. Others hunt by ducking under the water and ‘flying’ after their prey. This is the strategy of the Razorbill, a gregarious black and white small seabird common in rocky coastlines of the north Atlantic.

Every year more is added to the body of knowledge about marine mammals. Knowledge is shared internationally through various fora and different media. Nevertheless, relatively little is known about these magnificent animals, and every opportunity is taken to study and research them. Thus, when a dead Bottlenose Dolphin washed ashore not far from Brest, it was a chance handed on a plate for the experts to do a necropsy. 

It is easy for people to only see the good side of our work – two people and a dog sailing round the world, diving, and doing a spot of filming and writing. While we believe we have the best jobs in the world, it’s not always a party on the Morgan. The wonderful moments are always those when we are working outdoors in nature, above or below water.

Seals are such endearing creatures, with their big wet eyes, puppy like faces, curious nature and cuddly fat bodies. There’s something vulnerable about them that makes people want to hold them and protect them. Though nothing could be further from the truth as seals are wild animals and are perfectly adapted to their surroundings.

For years I have been fighting a couple of drops of water under one of the beds in the aft starboard cabin. It was one of those irritating cases where for months it didn’t show itself, and then suddenly there it was again. As it rains all the time here, Brest (Brittany, France) is the ideal place to trace the leaks in your boat.

Here in the marina in Brest, there is a lady who sells fresh seafood from a van. She sells various products, including the local seasonal speciality coquilles St. Jacques, or scallops. One day last week we bought a kilo of scallops in their shells, and steamed them with garlic and white wine for dinner. They were very fresh and very delicious.